Motormouth Mitch: Fremantle should look to bring in West Coast assistant Jarrad Schofield to give harder edge
Freo’s Schofield steal
If you read the tea leaves, Jarrad Schofield is unlikely to get the West Coast coaching gig full-time.
It’s a three-horse race between Steven King, Hayden Skipworth and Andrew McQualter to take charge of the Eagles from 2025.
And it leaves Schofield in an awkward position at the Eagles who will have a fresh face walking in the door.
Does he stay at West Coast where he was beaten by a job for another coach, or does he look to add to his experience by joining a third club?
He is reportedly being offered an extended deal to stay at West Coast, but it might be hard for him to walk in the door next year given he didn’t get the job.
This is an opportunity Fremantle and Justin Longmuir should be looking to take advantage of by recruiting his former Dockers teammate.
They have a space on their coaching panel after defensive coach Matthew Boyd left post-season to return to Victoria and join Collingwood.
A simple reshuffle of their coaching line-up and Longmuir could bring in Schofield to take charge of the Dockers’ midfield to bring them that hard edge that they desperately need.
Fremantle have one of the more skilled midfields in the AFL, but they lack a killer instinct that turns good teams into premiership-winning ones.
This uncompromising commitment to the contest is what Schofield brought out in the Eagles in most of his seven-game tenure as interim coach.
And Fremantle experienced it firsthand in round 20 when West Coast crashed and bashed them in a physical contest that worked for three quarters.
It’s a trait that the Dockers desperately need if they’re going to be a top-four side next year, as they should be.
And for Schofield, it could help add to his resume that is already impressive and maybe even help him become a senior coach of an AFL club down the track.
Hough honorCamera IconBrady Hough had a year to remember for West Coast. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Tom Barrass’ looming move to Hawthorn not only means West Coast lose a key defender but also their vice-captain.
They already have co-captains in Oscar Allen and Liam Duggan, while senior players in Elliot Yeo and Jeremy McGovern being around means there’s no shortage of on-field leadership at the club.
But it presents an opportunity to give a young player some extra responsibility by elevating them into the leadership group and into that role as vice-captain.
The Eagles should hand this responsibility to Brady Hough.
Some may see it as too early given Hough is about to enter only his fourth season at the Eagles, but the young man oozes future captain tendencies.
Since being drafted in 2021, Hough has played 53 games and has earnt every single one of them after coming in as a skinny wingman.
This year, he established himself as not only their best lock-down medium defender but one of the better ones in the AFL.
Hough has taken down the likes of Tom Papley and Charlie Cameron in his short career and is only getting better.
Camera IconBrady Hough had a breakout year. Credit: Steve Bell/Getty Images
He deservedly finished fifth in the John Worsfold Medal count as a result and is only going to improve.
Hough looks every bit a future captain of the Eagles and he’s already committed long-term to the club, signed on until the end of 2028.
Giving him the role as vice-captain will add to his development and is a great reward for his excellent rise in such a short period of time.
It’s unlikely that he will have to captain the side in the short term given both Duggan and Allen would have to be injured but even if it does happen, he’s got plenty of experience heads around him.
Hough is part of the future of West Coast and could be the next man to lead the club.
Hamling stunner?
A lot of talk this week is going to be around the health of Sydney forward Logan McDonald.
The Perth product had arguably his most influential game at AFL level in the preliminary final win over Port Adelaide before he was subbed out after an awkward landing resulted in an ankle injury.
Losing McDonald for the grand final against Brisbane would be a significant blow, but as coach John Longmire learnt two years ago with Sam Reid, you can’t take injured players into the final Saturday in September.
If McDonald is not fit to play it leaves the Swans with an interesting selection dilemma given they lack suitable and fit replacements.
Reid has retired and Claremont product Jack Buller has been on their inactive list since May with a back injury.
Believe it or not, this leaves former Fremantle defender Joel Hamling as the only fit key forward left on the Swans’ list.
Camera IconJoel Hamling at Sydney training. Credit: Sydney FC/TheWest
Playing Hamling is not the worst option given he is experienced and had a stellar season for the Swans’ VFL side.
Hamling booted 31 goals in 17 games for the Sydney reserves side this year, including a bag of five against Geelong’s VFL side earlier this year.
It would be the most remarkable of club debuts if Hamling is called up but it’s not unprecedented.
Don’t forget it was only a few years ago that Damien Hardwick handed Marlion Pickett his AFL debut in a grand final and it worked to perfection.
Hamling is no stranger to the grand final stage, having been a premiership player at the Western Bulldogs in 2016 and if he is called in for McDonald, Sydney can keep the structure they’ve used all season to perfection.
Daniher dilemma
The Swans aren’t the only team with selection headaches heading into the grand final.
Brisbane will be without ruckman Oscar McInerney after he dislocated his shoulder twice in the preliminary final win over Geelong.
Lions coach Chris Fagan poured cold water on the prospect of his ruckman being fit for Saturday, which seemingly opens up the chance for former Cat Darcy Fort to come into the side.
But it isn’t Fagan’s only option. When McInerney went down on Saturday afternoon they were forced to use enigmatic forward Joe Daniher in the ruck.
And it changed the game in their favour, with Daniher’s work around the MCG and at ground level too much for Geelong’s Rhys Stanley.
Against Sydney in the grand final they will find themselves in a similar situation.
Fort is unlikely to get the better of Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy. If they’re not going to win the hit-outs, why not just use Daniher as the main ruckman instead given he will give you more around the ground than Fort?
They may miss Daniher up forward, but the Lions looked a lot more dangerous on the wide-open MCG with their contingent of small forwards in Callum Ah Chee, Zac Bailey, Cam Rayner and Charlie Cameron attacking with speed.
It might be more advantageous for the Lions to bring in an extra midfielder in Deven Robertson instead of Fort to open the game up against a faster Sydney outfit.
Camera IconDeven Robertson. Credit: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Robertson has been dominant for the Lions’ VFL side this year but hasn’t been able to break into their engine room at the AFL level.
Playing Robertson would allow Rayner, Bailey and Ah Chee to play more forward of centre where they could cause a lot of angst for the Swans’ defensive end.
The idea might seem far-fetched, but the Lions were at their best with Daniher in the ruck and Fort has played only two games this season.
In all reality the Lions are going to go with Fort, but you have to wonder if they take the biggest of risks they might get the ultimate reward.
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